Celebrity Life

Messika first sprang on to the scene with its fine-jewellery collection Move. Its founder, Valerie Messika, tells us how dance and fashion inspired her latest high-jewellery collection, Magnetic Attraction.

The wearing of diamond jewellery might seem common nowadays – diamond tennis bracelets, delicate diamond pendant necklaces and diamond stud earrings have become everyday staples – but Valerie Messika recalls a vastly different time.

“When I founded Messika 16 years ago, there was a real fear and apprehension around diamonds. Most women only really wore the diamond for their engagement ring or very traditional eveningwear,” she tells me. “A lot of women also thought of it as a stone to wear when they were “older” – they had this notion that it aged them.”

Even as a child, Messika was surrounded by diamonds. Her father, André, was a jeweller who set up his own business at the age of just 22 and quickly became one of the most prominent and well-respected diamond dealers in the industry.

“My whole childhood was filled with memories of my father and his passion for diamonds,” says Messika, who bonded with him over their shared love for the stones. “When I was a little girl, I remember he’d bring back incredible diamonds and he used to let me play with them. My first real crush for diamonds was at the age
of 12 when I found an envelope with tiny diamonds at my father’s place. I was fascinated by the light they exhaled.” She also vividly recalls her father coming home with a pocketful of different shapes and types of diamonds, and playing around with them.

These strong visuals accompanied her until the day she decided to create her own namesake jewellery brand. Small clusters of diamonds forming delicate designs became her signature, as did moving diamonds – the Move collection resulted from her desire to give freedom to the diamond, and is inspired by the memory of her father slipping diamonds between his fingers.

“My goal was and is to create a new way of wearing jewellery,” says Messika of her brand, which opened its first store in 2005. “I had this vision in which diamonds must be modern, innovative and easy to wear. Jewellery is an opportunity to express your personality. I liked the fact that there were no more rules: it’s really about embracing your own personal style and making jewellery yours. That’s the spirit I wanted to inject into my collections.”

Her latest launch is the Magnetic Attraction collection, high-jewellery creations that, yet again, pay the highest tribute to the diamond and embody the brand’s central element – movement – through the theme of dance. “I always start the creative process with the stone,” says Messika. “The lightness and movement, despite
the strength of the pieces, is the most fascinating aspect of the jewellery.”

For the coloured-diamond collection, she designed 16 spectacular pieces, ranging from double-finger rings, hand bracelets, triple-finger rings, ear cuffs and ankle bracelets. Her favourite piece is the Pear Appeal Toi & Moi yellow diamond ring, “for its strength and relaxed aspects, despite the fact there are two stones of 7 carats each”. The ring design places the two pear-shaped fancy yellow diamonds in opposing directions, like two opposing poles of a magnet, almost touching but separated by a band of emerald-cut white diamonds. Messika’s approach to her jewellery is to stun and yet be effortless at the same time, fashionable and still timeless for the years to come.

Fashion is another aspect that’s always been close to her heart – she’s worked closely with strong women in the industry, whom she believes embody Messika’s key codes. Joan Smalls and Sylvia Hoeks are both faces for the brand, while Gigi Hadid and Kate Moss have worked closely with Messika in designing collections.

“Kate has always been an inspiration and a muse for me,” she says, revealing that designing her first high-jewellery collection with Moss was a spontaneous decision. “I met her last year at the Ritz … and she was wearing a lot of jewellery. I was curious to know the various stories behind her jewels and that’s when I discovered that she was obsessed with jewellery, particularly high-jewellery pieces. I took the chance to ask her if she’d like to co-design a high-jewellery collection with me. Kate said yes straight away.”

So successful was the partnership that Messika teases there’ll be more to come. “It was an exciting challenge to entwine Kate’s personal tastes with the key codes of Messika,” she says. “Please stay tuned for Kate Moss Opus 2 collection!”

This story first appeared in the August 2021 print issue of Prestige Hong Kong.

The post Valerie Messika: How Dance Inspired Her Latest High Jewellery Collection appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

12 Famous Celebrities Who Have Dabbled in the Art of Interior Design ⇒ Discover which superstars have actually made a name for themselves in the industry.

Over the last few decades, celebrities have expanded their careers to other industries and the interior design sector is among their favorites. Many have already released numerous furniture and home decor collections that are a valuable contribution.

Continue reading 12 Famous Celebrities Who Have Dabbled in the Art of Interior Design at Luxxu Blog.

British fashion brand Alexander McQueen has revealed its Autumn/Winter 2019 campaign which features the iconic supermodel Kate Moss walking through the countryside in the North of England -- where the brand's creative director, Sarah Burton, hails from.

 

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A post shared by Alexander McQueen (@alexandermcqueen) on Jul 18, 2019 at 4:35am PDT

The campaign was shot by British fashion and documentary photographer Jamie Hawkesworth and filmmaker Masha Vasyukova. Moss poses in a garment factory and walks in the sunlight, while donning sharp suits and romantic gowns. She also stars in the brand's latest eyewear campaign.

 

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A post shared by Alexander McQueen (@alexandermcqueen) on Jul 23, 2019 at 1:32am PDT

It seems that Moss is on something of a roll at the moment -- earlier this month, she was snapped up by French fashion brand Zadig & Voltaire to act as the muse for its Autumn/Winter 2019 campaign, posing in a series of black and white images and an energetic video posted to the label's Instagram account. She was also selected by Italian fashion house Giorgio Armani to front its Fall/Winter 2019–2020 campaign, which was shot by the famous photography duo Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott.

 

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A post shared by Alexander McQueen (@alexandermcqueen) on Jul 19, 2019 at 8:30am PDT

This article was published via AFP Relaxnews.

The post Fashion Legend Kate Moss Stars in New Alexander McQueen Campaign appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

One of the world’s most in-demand celebrity make-up artists, Charlotte Tilbury is about to launch her first counter in Hong Kong. She talks about her potions and lotions – and how they create commotions.

The post Charlotte Tilbury Is Hong Kong’s New Favourite Make-up Brand appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Get inspired by the 5 highest paid models in the world. Aka the most successful women in Fashion

To look beautiful and smart is probably one of the biggest matters in today’s society, and we can’t deny the importance fashion has in our everyday lives. Whether it’s in the work space or a dinner with friends, if we want to make a good impression, good posture and looks will definitely help.

Continue reading Meet The World’s Highest Paid Models of 2017 at Luxxu Blog.

Get inspired by the 5 highest paid models in the world. Aka the most successful women in Fashion

To look beautiful and smart is probably one of the biggest matters in today’s society, and we can’t deny the importance fashion has in our everyday lives. Whether it’s in the work space or a dinner with friends, if we want to make a good impression, good posture and looks will definitely help.

Continue reading Meet The World’s Highest Paid Models of 2017 at Luxxu Blog.

The world's 12th best paid model isn't looking for pretty faces though; the Kate Moss Agency wants to develop talent and create stars.

The post Kate Moss Launches Own Talent Agency appeared first on LUXUO.

Professional modeling sees major changes in its 2016 top earners, even though Gisele Bundchen remains catwalk queen with $30.5 million in the bank.

The post World’s Highest Paid Models 2016: Forbes appeared first on LUXUO.

We’re getting to know a different cast of celebrities, who reveal their stories and how they ____ in #mycalvins.

The post Calvin Klein Fall Campaign ____ in #mycalvins appeared first on LUXUO.

The supermodel designs a new capsule collection for the cult label.

The post Kate Moss Unveils Equipment Campaign Video appeared first on LUXUO.

Celebrity hairstylist Robinson's latest book fills you in on all the things you need to know to tackle your Asian hair woes.

The post Kim Robinson Master Class on Asian Hair appeared first on LUXUO.